Go on; roll your eyes, some of you. Whether you like it or not, the
humble selfie has slowly but steadily cemented its place in our cultural
vocabulary. Now, no matter what you prefer – a post-workout-selfie, a
whee-I’m-so-high-selfie or even an insert-your-fav-pose-here-selfie –
there’s no excuse to muck up that photo. The next time you feel the urge
to pull that smartphone out of your pants and rock yourself another
selfie, do your followers a favour and follow these tips, will ya?
1. Get the angle right: Before embarking on the voyage of a thousand selfies, know thyself. Not the profound stuff, but which angles flatter your face the most. In general, try to shoot from above – a sure shot way to avoid the dreaded double chin while making your face look slimmer. Hold the camera far away from your face for the most flattering look, but watch out for that outstretched arm. You could try turning your head at a slight angle to the camera, usually ends up looking better than staring at the camera head-on. Tilt, turn, twist, but find that angle.
2. Let there be light: Nothing can take you from a right-royal Benedict Cumberbatch to a Been-an-addict Cumquat faster than bad lighting! Get that light source in front of you, preferably downward onto your face but never behind you. If you can help it, avoid lighting that’s too bright, which can cause you to look blown out and lose all the details in the picture. Evening and morning sunshine works best!
3. Turn the flash…off: Unless you’re in pitch dark conditions (in which case, a selfie shouldn’t be your first priority), avoid the camera flash. All it does is fire a hard burst of light at your face that’s unflattering even to the squarest of jaws. Not to mention that horrible red-eye.
4. Location, location, location: Where you shoot your selfie says a lot about who you are, so scope out the surroundings for what else your camera will be capturing besides yourself. Dirty room? Naked spouse? Avoid, avoid. Jennifer Lawrence photobombing your picture? Well that you cannot (and should not) avoid. Also, while that loo mirror is a great reflective surface, remember that it reflects without discrimination, so frame your image and watch out for, you know, stuff you wouldn’t want showing up. Oh, and if you really must shoot in the loo, remember to look up in the mirror and not at your phone.
5. Front or rear?: Your phone’s front camera is rather convenient to frame yourself in the shot, but it turns out mostly crappy images. A little bit of practice is all it takes to get used to shooting with the phone’s high-resolution rear-facing camera. What can help is one of many apps like Camera+ which will let you use the volume rocker as a shutter key to take photographs. Try getting used to the no-look selfie – you’ll almost certainly end up with a better higher-quality image.
6. Steady now: This one’s a toughie when you’ve had one too many, but in all other situations, a steady hand beats a shaky hand in taking good pictures 10 to 1. Take a deep breath, relax and hold that arm (and the pose) in place! If you’re aiming for pro-selfie status, pickup a pocket tripod than can hold your phone steady while you give your selfie your best!
7. Compose yourself: The rules that work for all good photographs apply to selfies too. The rule of thirds, for instance, suggests that if you divide your screen into a 3x3 grid, you should place yourself on any one of the grid intersection points, and not plonk yourself dead-center in the photo. Makes for more interesting photos – just ask any pro shutterbug you may know.
8. Invest in a half-decent app: Your default camera app on the phone/tablet isn’t as full-featured as apps like Camera+ and Camera ZOOM FX, which can not only add basic timer functionality to avoid phone camera shake, but also let you adjust tons of shooting settings that let you take selfies that are more keepers than losers. Of course, you can use these apps for your everyday shooting as well!
9. Filters are your friend: With even Instagram packing in a ton of filters, there’s simply no excuse for posting your selfies au naturel. Have a ton of wrinkles or bags under your eyes? Try the Willow filter in Instagram to magic away those selfie-killers.
10. Nip and Tuck: Sadly, filters can only do so much, so if you want that “perfect” selfie, a trip to the phone app store might be in order. Apps like Aviary and Facetune offer a whole host of tools to work with – from quick crops to teeth whitening, smoothing out wrinkles to removing red-eye. In the quest for Instagram fame and social network acceptance, why settle for any less?
1. Get the angle right: Before embarking on the voyage of a thousand selfies, know thyself. Not the profound stuff, but which angles flatter your face the most. In general, try to shoot from above – a sure shot way to avoid the dreaded double chin while making your face look slimmer. Hold the camera far away from your face for the most flattering look, but watch out for that outstretched arm. You could try turning your head at a slight angle to the camera, usually ends up looking better than staring at the camera head-on. Tilt, turn, twist, but find that angle.
2. Let there be light: Nothing can take you from a right-royal Benedict Cumberbatch to a Been-an-addict Cumquat faster than bad lighting! Get that light source in front of you, preferably downward onto your face but never behind you. If you can help it, avoid lighting that’s too bright, which can cause you to look blown out and lose all the details in the picture. Evening and morning sunshine works best!
3. Turn the flash…off: Unless you’re in pitch dark conditions (in which case, a selfie shouldn’t be your first priority), avoid the camera flash. All it does is fire a hard burst of light at your face that’s unflattering even to the squarest of jaws. Not to mention that horrible red-eye.
4. Location, location, location: Where you shoot your selfie says a lot about who you are, so scope out the surroundings for what else your camera will be capturing besides yourself. Dirty room? Naked spouse? Avoid, avoid. Jennifer Lawrence photobombing your picture? Well that you cannot (and should not) avoid. Also, while that loo mirror is a great reflective surface, remember that it reflects without discrimination, so frame your image and watch out for, you know, stuff you wouldn’t want showing up. Oh, and if you really must shoot in the loo, remember to look up in the mirror and not at your phone.
5. Front or rear?: Your phone’s front camera is rather convenient to frame yourself in the shot, but it turns out mostly crappy images. A little bit of practice is all it takes to get used to shooting with the phone’s high-resolution rear-facing camera. What can help is one of many apps like Camera+ which will let you use the volume rocker as a shutter key to take photographs. Try getting used to the no-look selfie – you’ll almost certainly end up with a better higher-quality image.
6. Steady now: This one’s a toughie when you’ve had one too many, but in all other situations, a steady hand beats a shaky hand in taking good pictures 10 to 1. Take a deep breath, relax and hold that arm (and the pose) in place! If you’re aiming for pro-selfie status, pickup a pocket tripod than can hold your phone steady while you give your selfie your best!
7. Compose yourself: The rules that work for all good photographs apply to selfies too. The rule of thirds, for instance, suggests that if you divide your screen into a 3x3 grid, you should place yourself on any one of the grid intersection points, and not plonk yourself dead-center in the photo. Makes for more interesting photos – just ask any pro shutterbug you may know.
8. Invest in a half-decent app: Your default camera app on the phone/tablet isn’t as full-featured as apps like Camera+ and Camera ZOOM FX, which can not only add basic timer functionality to avoid phone camera shake, but also let you adjust tons of shooting settings that let you take selfies that are more keepers than losers. Of course, you can use these apps for your everyday shooting as well!
9. Filters are your friend: With even Instagram packing in a ton of filters, there’s simply no excuse for posting your selfies au naturel. Have a ton of wrinkles or bags under your eyes? Try the Willow filter in Instagram to magic away those selfie-killers.
10. Nip and Tuck: Sadly, filters can only do so much, so if you want that “perfect” selfie, a trip to the phone app store might be in order. Apps like Aviary and Facetune offer a whole host of tools to work with – from quick crops to teeth whitening, smoothing out wrinkles to removing red-eye. In the quest for Instagram fame and social network acceptance, why settle for any less?
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